Use of wireless mobile communication handsets (mobile devices), such as cellular telephones, is ever increasing due to their portability and connectivity, as well as the multitude of applications that execute on them. One of the most often used applications on mobile devices is text messaging. Today text messaging is the most widely used mobile data service on the planet, with 72% of all mobile device users worldwide—1.9 Billion out of 2.7 Billion phone subscribers at end of 2006—being active users of the Short Message Service (SMS). In countries like Finland, Sweden and Norway over 90% of the population use SMS. The European average is about 85% and North America is rapidly catching up with over 40% active users of SMS by the end of 2006.
Text messaging has become so popular that advertising agencies and advertisers are now jumping into the text message business. Services that provide bulk text message sending are also becoming a popular way for clubs, associations, and advertisers to quickly reach a group of opt-in subscribers.
Text messaging offers some benefits over voice communication. User may communicate via text messaging when one or both communicants are hearing impaired or in locations where ambient noise impair voice communications. Since text message data signals do not require as much signal power as voice data signals, users may communicate via text messaging in situations where signal strength is not optimal. Some recipients of text messages find text messages to be a more personal form of communication compared to voice communication. Thus, recipients often find that receiving a text message on important occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. particularly endearing. In addition to text messages, alternative messaging services have been developed which augment text messaging to allow a user to also include other media files with the message. For example, a user may send a message comprising a video, animation, or audio in addition to text.